Wilson Clash: New mould or old frame re-done?

1HBHfanatic

Legend
yes those are the colours

i can now confirm, the 3 color combo is it!!. tnx
got to see it last week also :)
w.rep had the demo one and the final color one in his bag,,
i did not bother asking for a pic, because the answer would be no,, they are keeping it pretty close to the chest until release date..
one interesting find, the demos of the clash he was given, had his name inside the throat piece,, which is cool, custom demo class for him..
 

aimr75

Hall of Fame
i can now confirm, the 3 color combo is it!!. tnx
got to see it last week also :)
w.rep had the demo one and the final color one in his bag,,
i did not bother asking for a pic, because the answer would be no,, they are keeping it pretty close to the chest until release date..
one interesting find, the demos of the clash he was given, had his name inside the throat piece,, which is cool, custom demo class for him..

I only have a photo of it. I haven’t seen it in hand.
 
Does it have a gloss or matte finish?

Is the paint work the same over the whole hairpin? Or is like the Pro Staff that had a velvety paint in some areas and a gloss finish in others?
 

1HBHfanatic

Legend
Does it have a gloss or matte finish?

Is the paint work the same over the whole hairpin? Or is like the Pro Staff that had a velvety paint in some areas and a gloss finish in others?

if i can recall correct, its a mix of both, like the ps you mentioned
couple things i did not like
1- no specs on the racquet, i looked!, and asked!,,
2- the grommets where a bit small for the racquet (the reps. demo clash was already getting scratched at top),
but anyway, its a must demo racquet when it comes out
a flexible/thick-beam/light racquet just begs to be swung big.. fun racquet..
 

monax

New User
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Crocodile

G.O.A.T.
I think it's a good idea to be able to make a powerful modern frame like a PD or APD but with a low RA. It's something that Yonex managed to do with their DR 98 frame and I believe they were on to something.
What they were saying with the DR is, " We can make a powerful racquet without the arm jarring experience", and quite a few players have switched to this racquet. If Wilson can get it right it could further complete this story.
 
The frame looks very "Collegiate" to me.

I think it is ruined by the standard Black Bumper guard and grommet strips though. Would have looked a lot more prestigious with bumper guards and grommet strips that were the same colour as the frame in the same vicinity.
 
I think it's a good idea to be able to make a powerful modern frame like a PD or APD but with a low RA. It's something that Yonex managed to do with their DR 98 frame and I believe they were on to something.
What they were saying with the DR is, " We can make a powerful racquet without the arm jarring experience", and quite a few players have switched to this racquet. If Wilson can get it right it could further complete this story.

@Crocodile, why do you think the DR 98 is a powerful frame?

IME the DR is a Wet Noodle in comparison to the EZones, SVs, and current VCores. Most players I know who use Yonex racquets all seem to say they can generate much heavier balls using other Yonex models. The DR98 seems to be much more of a control and feel based frame compared to he rest.

In saying this, I cannot grasp the idea that a soft flexible frame can ever have the same Depth potential (some people call it Power potential, but I see the two things as being very different) as a stiffer frame with all other things being equal. A flexible frame always absorbs more of the kinetic energy of the incoming ball and returns less to it as it launches it back out of the string bed.

Perhaps Wilson is doing something clever to alter the stiffness of the frame depending on where the ball impacts the string bed and how heavy that impact is. But then one cannot say whether the racquet is flexible or stiff, because that will change depending on the various factors in play.
 

Crocodile

G.O.A.T.
@Crocodile, why do you think the DR 98 is a powerful frame?

IME the DR is a Wet Noodle in comparison to the EZones, SVs, and current VCores. Most players I know who use Yonex racquets all seem to say they can generate much heavier balls using other Yonex models. The DR98 seems to be much more of a control and feel based frame compared to he rest.

In saying this, I cannot grasp the idea that a soft flexible frame can ever have the same Depth potential (some people call it Power potential, but I see the two things as being very different) as a stiffer frame with all other things being equal. A flexible frame always absorbs more of the kinetic energy of the incoming ball and returns less to it as it launches it back out of the string bed.

Perhaps Wilson is doing something clever to alter the stiffness of the frame depending on where the ball impacts the string bed and how heavy that impact is. But then one cannot say whether the racquet is flexible or stiff, because that will change depending on the various factors in play.
I'm not suggesting that the DR is a powerful racquet at the same level as an APD, but what I am seeing here in my neck of the woods, is PD and APD players with sensitive arms looking at the DR as a softer alternative. The superseded SV was closer to the Babolat but same issues. Therefore what Wilson I believe are doing is to come up with something that has lot of the modern characteristics but without the stiffness. You have to remember that many of the pro stock versions of the APD and PD have much lower RA's and higher weights and it's those who only have access to retail frames get the stiffer frames.
 

Crocodile

G.O.A.T.
While I haven't had a close look ( might pop down to the Sydney Int) but I would imagine that Wilson would be starting to show this racquet on TV to get exposure before they get released Feb 15. I have spoken to people who have seen the final paint job so maybe at the OZ open it will be there.
 
I'm not suggesting that the DR is a powerful racquet at the same level as an APD, but what I am seeing here in my neck of the woods, is PD and APD players with sensitive arms looking at the DR as a softer alternative.

The players with sensitive arms that you refer to. Are they using stock retail PDs and APDs? Have any of them customised their racquets to mitigate any potential health issues?

For sure, if Wilson can produce a Retail racquet that shares similar characteristics to a PD / APD but is also a lot "softer", I would imagine it will be onto a winner, especially for Intermediate Level players.
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
The players with sensitive arms that you refer to. Are they using stock retail PDs and APDs? Have any of them customised their racquets to mitigate any potential health issues?

For sure, if Wilson can produce a Retail racquet that shares similar characteristics to a PD / APD but is also a lot "softer", I would imagine it will be onto a winner, especially for Intermediate Level players.
Nobody customises. They buy a frame, put some string in there that lasts, and wait until it breaks.

Even customised these frames aren't comfy.
 

SpinToWin

Talk Tennis Guru
Depends on the player and the customiser I suppose.

It might not be possible to get PDs or APDs to uber comfort levels, but you can certainly make them a lot more comfortable than they are out of the box.
They're not comfortable frames, even on a market with many uncomfortable frames.

They're usually ok for players with great form and contact - that's not your average rec player
 

1HBHfanatic

Legend
The frame looks very "Collegiate" to me.

I think it is ruined by the standard Black Bumper guard and grommet strips though. Would have looked a lot more prestigious with bumper guards and grommet strips that were the same colour as the frame in the same vicinity.

do you see the gromets, how small they seem for that racquet?! i wish they covered the edges of the frame a bit more, and truly protect the racquet,,
babolats have this same issue
 

cork_screw

Hall of Fame
Thanks for throwing on those zorro black bands around their eyes. Your disguise trick is one of the best. Nobody can tell who they are.


Wilson announced a new series today, Clash.

They've gone through many naming conventions for the 98-105 headsize player's frame in recent years.

A few come to mind: pro open series, juice series, burn series, steam series, ultra series, etc.... most of which have been extremely gimmicky in design, cosmetic, and marketing strategy..

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I personally thought they might stick with the ultra this time. It has a clever name, good cosmetic, and a fantastic mould. Would be a bummer if they moved away from it.

Anyone have intel on the Wilson Clash? Could it be a disguised 6.1?!!?!?!?

Wilson Clash on Instagram
 

bwongman

Rookie
Just saw and got to handle the official colorway yesterday. Not as nice as I had pictured it in my head. If I designed the racquet I would have had the red on the inside of the top of the frame and in gloss then the matte black on the outside.
 
They're usually ok for players with great form and contact - that's not your average rec player

Yes, well I do spend most of my time around players with excellent tennis form and tennis stroke technique. Very few complaints about Babolat "stiffness".

But then most of them have also nailed the right racquet specs and string combinations to suit their games and minimise their chances of tennis related arm injuries.
 

Moonarse

Semi-Pro
I can't stand this rubbery PJ's from Wilson. The whole Wilson line is not as appealling to me as, lets say, Yonex and Prince, but I think I would get along with some of their Frames quite awright.

But with this velvet/Rubber PJ I can't get any close to them. Really looking forward for the next Gen to be glossy again.
 
I can't stand this rubbery PJ's from Wilson. The whole Wilson line is not as appealling to me as, lets say, Yonex and Prince, but I think I would get along with some of their Frames quite awright.

But with this velvet/Rubber PJ I can't get any close to them. Really looking forward for the next Gen to be glossy again.

The Velvet / Rubber is simple to remove from the racquet if you really want to.
 

TagUrIt

Hall of Fame
I'm a Wilson racquet fan, so to me the color scheme is fine. I'll most likely buy one, probably demo first just to be sure.


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FedGR

Professional
I recently got a Clash with the Dazzle paint job. Got to hit with it yesterday for about 1 hour. First impressions, it is a very fun racket. Lots of spin and power, easy to swing, big sweetspot and very plush and comfy. I am not experienced with bigger headsize rackets as I mostly play with 95-98 but the Clash definitely reminded me of a softer version of the Blade 104 and the G360 Speed MP.

Need to play more with it to have a more accurate opinion.

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FedGR

Professional
Update: after 1 more hour of hitting, I feel that the racket needs some added lead to not be pushed around. I had trouble dialing in my slices but that could just be because it's a new racket/string setup.

On my groundstrokes I felt I had good accuracy and depth and even though the racket is very soft, it also provides a nice crisp ball pocketing feeling.
 

FedGR

Professional
@Karma Tennis It is indeed Hyper G 1.2 strung at 50# . I am mostly an Alu Power/Rough and TB soft guy so I need to restring the racket with these to get a better feel for it.
 

PaintTheLines

New User
I’ve actually hit with the Clash in hybrid, full poly and full multi. The string preference in my opinion is up to personal preference. All three setups were very comfortable. I am not a big lover of full poly and did not mind it in the Clash.
Agreed
 
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